Major Parties Other than JIP to Skip Osaka Double Election

Osaka, Jan. 18 (Jiji Press)–Major Japanese political parties other than the Japan Innovation Party are expected not to participate in the upcoming double election for the governor of Osaka Prefecture and the mayor of Osaka, the prefecture’s capital. The ruling Liberal Democratic Party’s Osaka prefectural chapter decided Saturday not to field candidates in the gubernatorial and mayoral races. At a press conference on the day, Rui Matsukawa, head of the LDP chapter, questioned the resignations of Osaka Governor Hirofumi Yoshimura, leader of the JIP, and Osaka Mayor Hideyuki Yokoyama to hold fresh elections in an effort to revive the so-called Osaka metropolis plan. “I wonder if a sudden election can reflect public opinion,” Matsukawa said. “It will be an election in which we don’t need to participate.” A political group affiliated with the Japanese Communist Party has also decided not to field candidates in the double election. The prefectural branches of the main opposition Constitutional Democratic Party of Japan and Komeito also plan to skip the election. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]